The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-04-02
UNIVERSALISM NOT CONDEMNED
BY CHURCH COUNCILS.

Church scholars of England, and a
divine whose word is authority wher-
ever he is known. We notice that in
his contribution to the English Homj-
tetic Recie,o symposium ON Probation"
which represents the views of thirteen
of the most prominent of the English
clergymen on that subject, that DIR.
Littledale gives the weight of his testi-
mony to the conclusion which is now
growing more and more decided, that
the doctrine of Universalisin has never
been condemned by general council
of the church. For long period it
was believed that the doctrine of the
final Restoration ooas thus condemned
at the so-called Fifth General Council,
held at Constantinople, A. D ,553. This
was the prevalent opinion when DR..
Hosea Ballou, I'd, wrote the history of
Ancient Universalism, and it is so
stated in that work.
Rev A st. John Chambre, in his note,
p. 2S1, of the revised edition (1S71)
of the Ancient History, dissents from
the conclusion of DR.. Ballou, who follow
ed other church historians in his account
of this Council, gives evidence for the
contrary conclusion, and more fully de-
veloped that evidence in an article in
the UniuersaIist Quarterly, for October,
1854. Rev. Mr.. Chambre also dissented
from the opinion that the Council of
C0nstantinople was a general council
of the church-denying that it was in
any true sense ecumenical- also
giving the evidence for that opinion.
More recently Canon Farrar assumed
the same ground, and by an array Of
evidence which is conclusive, denied
that the Council of COnstantinople was
in any true sense council of the church,
regarding it as only local in its charac-
ter, and not the representative body
which it has been represented and
also denying that this council condemn
ed the doctrine Of Universalism. Rev.
Mr.. Chambre, in remark at the close of
Ancient History, puts the case in this
form: 'If General Councils are author
itative of the faith of the church, the
Fifth, granting it ecumenicaD did not
1--WE think) con denim Universalism.
But it really has no claim to the title
of ecumenical = certainly not in any
such sense as, for instance, the Council
of Nice, A. D., 325."
DIR. Littledale now confirms the view
expressed by Mr.. Chambre and Canon
Farrar. He first makes the point that
no council of the church has pronounced
against the doctrine of probation after
death and secondly, that no such coun-
Gil ever condemned Universalism. He
first remarks "There are two consid-
cradle deductions to be made by strict
enquiries from the apparent unanimity
of consent to the sterner view on the
part of collective Christendom. First,
no dogmatic decree of the universal
church can be produced in support of
that view-(i e., the view that excludes
probation after death), nor is it embod-
led in any of the creeds. Next, it has
always been tolerated opinion in the
Eastern church, that it is possible, how
ever rare, for soul in the spirit world
to pass from the ranks of the lost to
those of the saved" The specific evil
dence for this opinion is not given but
we may rest assured that DR.. Littledale
would not risk the statement if he
could not "verify his references"
On the question of Universalism,
which did not properly enter into the
subject which the several writers in
the symposium agreed to discuss, DR..
Littledale has the following interesting
remarks:
"While it is true that the question
of Universalism does not properly enter
into this discussion, as being excluded
by the limitations of the thesis, yet it
is impossible to keep the ideas apart in
the mind, even when they are not com
in the language of the disput-
ants; and it is thus necessary to say
that the statement made above to the
effect that there is no decision of the
whole Christian church adverse to the
notion of Suitability after death, may
be extended in point of fact to there
being no such decision against even
Universalism, for the currently repeated
assertion that such a condemnation was
decreed directly or indirectly by the
Fifth General Council, is unsupported
by the original documents, though it is
certain that it was precisely this con-
domination which the Emperor Justi-
Man desired to elicit, so that a more
than common significance attaches to
the refusal of the Council to pronounce
on the question. AS the greater in
cludes the less, the belief that some
persons may be saved after death is !.
granted tenure by the liberation thus
extended to the belief that all will be
saved"
Through the efforts of such men as
Farrar and Littledale, Universalism will
evidently soon be delivered from the
old reproach of being under the ban of |
the Christian ages. While we would in
no way agree that the decision of the
general church councils is any proper
for the belief of Christians
at the present time, it is an interesting
fact to believers in the doctrine of the
Restoration that no such body in the